I have an agent!

Ha ha! I like this pic!

So I can hardly believe I am writing this but I now have a literary agent! I spoke to Gillie Russell (Aitken Alexander, London / New York - might actually pass out writing that!!!) on the phone tonight and she sent a contract (agreement letter) through by email. So now I just have to sign on the dotted line and send it back - and hey presto!

It hasn't really sunk in yet but I do feel really happy. Of course the book now has to be sold but I feel like I'm another step along the long, long road to getting The Watchers published.

Just looked back at some of my first blog posts in the summer and grinned, remembering the days when I really wondered if my head was cut spending my precious holiday writing a book. But, as they say, no pain no gain. There were lots of times when writing the book was great fun but there were other days when it was like having teeth pulled without anaesthetic. I think that's the bit you don't realise when you read books. You assume it was effortless. I now know better...

TV Night!

Ok, I'll be honest. I'm not much of a TV watcher. Life seems too short - but never too short for reading, writing or watching the cats chase a tie twitched like a snake.

I digress. If there is one night of the week when I abandon all my scruples and throw caution to the winds, it is Friday night. Friday night is the home of The Mentalist on Ch5, followed by The Event on Ch4+1 (God bless Freeview).

Lots of people seem to hate The Event. In fact, I may even steal an Event-hater's joke and post it here because it's funny. For me however, it's perfect Friday night TV. The characters are straight-forwardly good or bad and I can ALWAYS work out the ending. After a long, exhausting week this always makes me feel clever. Also the Sean / Shaun character is easy on the eye.

Sean is desperate to find his girlfriend and won't stop until he does. We all want to believe that the men in our lives will never give up on us. Maybe that's why it was so easy to write The Watchers. After all, Evie trusts that the 'man' in her life will do whatever it takes to save her - even if it means sacrificing himself.

Back from the beach

Keep hearing about this heatwave they are getting in England - complete with health warnings no less! Looking out the window there is no sign of it here in not-so-sunny Norn Iron. In fact we're promised truly apocalyptic rain this afternoon.

We headed out for breakfast this morning, then got to the beach before the black clouds came in. It's not swimming weather but a paddle was definitely on the cards. Not too many cars on the Strand this morning which was nice for us but probably not so good for the town. Lots of absent holidaymakers. We almost walked to the barmouth, then turned and ambled home.

So now I am settling in at the desk, because the sky is darkening outside the window and it's shaping up to be what Colm calls 'writing weather'. I'm sitting at 22,000+ words so aiming to hit 25,000 by the end of the day. Got to use the holidays wisely.

My office is a crazy mess and really needs binned out, but don't want to procrastinate. So I'll do the writing first, and then see if I get to the cleaning. Mrs Mop I'm not...

Notes from a small island...

Hi!

I'm Debbie and I'm a writer-in-progress. I work with teenagers in Northern Ireland and I'm currently writing my first novel, aimed at teens. It's an urban fantasy / paranormal romance, and I'd love to see the story in print.

I'm writing this blog to chart the whole process, from plotting / writing to submission - and hopefully to publication! So where am I at to date?

The book has a working title of THE WATCHERS. It's an urban fantasy about a girl called Evie, who has a pretty crappy life. Only two things in her life work well - her drawing, and the very special guy who watches out for her. More on that later...

This week I sent a sample (first 4 chapters and a synopsis) to an agent in London. I was put in touch with them by the fabulous Bernie McGill (first novel 'THE BUTTERFLY CABINET' to be published by Headline on August 5th!). Bernie was good enough to read my sample and read it in one sitting. She gave me brilliant feedback, and really helped me make a few things clearer. Thanks also to her daughter Mary, who read it and loved it!

Today I met the lovely Paddy O'Doherty (Puffin Ireland) in a workshop organised by Yes Publications in Derry. Paddy gave our little group of writers some great insider info, and I was able to give her the same sample.

It's strange sending work out to people and knowing that I should expect a whole lot of rejections before I ever get any joy. I will try and be as honest as I can about the whole process! :-)

That's all for now folks! I'll keep you posted!